September 1997 Public Relations
Ball Diamond Named for Rotary
Club
Loves Park Rotary presented $8000 to the Harlem Community Center
towards improvement at the center. To show their appreciation
for the support the Rotary club has given the community center, a
new T-Ball diamond will be named in honor of the Rotary CLub of
Loves Park. The Loves Park Club raised the money from their
annual fruit sales. The money was pledged over a period of 3
years.
Over 15,000 children and adults rely on the Harlem Community
Center to provide them with year-round recreational
opportunities, child care services, employment training,
neighborhood access to services and a facility for family
gatherings. HCC is in the midst of a capitol campaign drive to
develop a major recreational complex.
October is Vocational
Service Month
Next month would be perfect timing to invite some of your members
to speak to your club about their vocations. And a vocational
tour of a local business would offer a delightful change of pace
from the normal meeting. Why don;t you have the vocational
chairperson schedule a visit to a business in your community.
International Convention
Challenge
Governor Ray Den Adel has offered $500 to clubs that show the
greatest net membership gain between July 1, 1997 and March 30,
1998. One club in each category, 30 and under or 31 and over,
will be eligible to receive the award. The money is to offset
expenses in sending a delegate to the International Convention in
Indianapolis.
Senior Active Membership
"Senior Active" is a form of membership reserved for
members who
have provided substantial years of service to Rotary and is
usually regarded as a mark of Rotary distinction. Being a senior
active member signifies that a Rotarian has been involved in club
activities over a long period of time.
A Rotarian automatically becomes "senior active" upon
completion
of 15 years of service in one or more Rotary clubs. Senior
active status is also conferred upon a Rotarian with ten or more
years of service who has reached the age of 60, or with five
years or more service who has reached the age of 65. A Rotarian
who serves as a district governor is also eligible for senior
active membership.
One of the benefits of being senior active is that the Rotarian
no longer must reside or have his place of business within the
territorial limits of the club. If a senior active member moves
to another city, he may be invited to join Rotary without having
an open classification. When a Rotarian becomes senior active,
that classification is released to enable another individual to
join Rotary.
Remember, senior active is not a classification, it is a type of
membership. A senior active member is always identified by
"former classification", which describes a business or
profession.
Two New District Awards
Beginning this Rotary year, two new district awards have been
established - one to recognize the outstanding public relations
efforts of clubs, and the other to honor non-Rotarian women who
have made significant contributions to the advancement of women.
Clubs may submit one entry per year for the new District Public
Relations Award. The entry must relate to a single club project,
event or campaign directed at an external audience - for example,
activities pertaining to just one topic such as drug abuse
prevention or literacy promotion. CLubs should be able to
demonstrate the effectiveness of this public relations effort by
showing one or all of the following results: significant media
coverage; increase in community support for Rotary service
activities; public recognition, such as community award; and
increased membership.
Along with their completed entry form, clubs must submit samples
of press releases and printed materials, public service
announcements, photos of displays, and other outreach tools,
along with evidence of resulting media coverage, public
recognition, or increased membership.
Entries for this Rotary year must be submitted to the district
governor by 15 March 1998 and may cover only those activities
that took place since 15 March 1997. District Governors must
send the name of the winning club to RI by 15 May 1998.
The Jean Harris Award, named after the wife of Rotary founder
Paul Harris, may be presented by each district to one
non-Rotarian woman who meets the following criteria:
1 Through her work or volunteer efforts, the recipient must have
made a significant contribution(s) to the development and
progress of women, addressing one or more of the issues affecting
women identified by the RI Board.
2 Her efforts must be current and ongoing and produce
recognizable improvements for women.
Clubs and Rotarians are encouraged to send nominations to the
district governor, who must submit the district's final selection
to RI by 15 January 1998.
Invite Paul Harris to Speak
at Your Club
Rotary's founder may be gone, but he can still "talk"
to
Rotarians thanks to modern technology. Paul Harris Live is a
10-minute video compilation of recently rediscovered color and
sound film images and features Paul talking with General
Secretary Ches Perry,,working at RI World Headquarters, and at
home with his wife, Jean. Contact PDG Roscoe Haas at (815)
232-4431 to get a copy to show to your club.
Membership Development
Thought
World Community Service
The WCS committee has selected 4 projects that the district will
emphasize to all clubs.
Our first project is to provide Rotahomes in Fiji. These typhoon
resistant structures provide a small but comfortable home to
those who have lost one. Each single room Rotahome costs $1560
including water. A two room home costs $2050.
Second, $4800 is needed to install a water supply system for a
school in Port Alfred, South Africa.
Third, in Zimbabwe, to provide wells and latrines for a village
of 2000 families. We can support this project by providing
$6000. $1500 returned from the Taxco dam project will be applied
toward this amount.
Last, in Piranti, Brazil, to assist in providing a speech and
hearing clinic for children in need. We have pledged $2500.
We did complete two projects in Brazil last year. Raising $3325
to purchase a minibus which transports doctors and patients to
and from Santarem Esperanza Medical Clinic, and the purchase of 3
sets of well drilling equipment, needed to replace old and worn
equipment.